By Virtual Academy

In Public Safety, it can feel like you’re being handed more tricks than treats during Halloween. Handling the immense amount of calls and complaints can be overwhelming, not to mention the actual handling of children trick-or-treating throughout the community. Streets are blocked as abnormal amounts of pedestrians flood popular neighborhoods to show off their children’s costumes.

While the stress of the day is inevitable, we’ve compiled a list of precautions to make your night a little easier. And who knows… you might even find yourself enjoying a candy bar, or two.

Law Enforcement Officers:

• While on patrol, keep some candy in your car. Park the car and patrol on foot for a little bit, hand the candy out and interact with the members of your community.
• While in your car, keep the windows rolled up! Things tend to get thrown a lot on Halloween, so protect the inside of your patrol car (and your face) from any rocks, pumpkins, or eggs that are airborne.
• Arrange to have extra officers that night, both in uniform and plain clothes.
• Be extra wary while driving. Darting children (and subsequently, their parents) are frequent, as sidewalks get crowded and children see friends they wish to talk to on the other side of the street.

9-1-1 Telecommunicators:

• Be prepared to take calls involving lost children. Children tend to leave their parents quickly to go visit friends/family. Parents can easily lose sight of them and panic. Try to stay calm when speaking to these parents on the phone.
• Older kids like to have fun on Halloween. This usually leads to calls of vandalism (toilet paper, eggs, etc.)
• Halloween night is like any other night, very unpredictable. Always expect and be ready for anything.
• Don’t get frustrated with repetitive calls. Try to treat every call as if it is your family member on the other end of the line. Be respectful and courteous.